The country is currently extracting just a fraction of its reserves, estimated at 50 trillion cubic metres of gas and 75 billion barrels of oil.

Yet its output has reached fresh highs on the back of recent surges in energy prices, with oil production close to topping 10 million barrels per day and gas production standing at about 600 million cubic metres.

Russia is the world's second largest oil exporter after Saudi Arabia, and the world's largest gas exporter.

Nevertheless, potentially insufficient investment in Russia's energy infrastructure has sparked concerns about the country's ability to produce enough to satisfy the market's insatiable appetite for oil and gas.